By Humberto Martinez Staff writer

Published 1:00 am, Wednesday, November 11, 2009

CLIFTON PARK — Apprenda, a local tech firm founded by graduates from two local colleges, has received $5 million from an investment firm.

On Monday, New Enterprise Associates — a venture capital firm which has invested in such tech companies as Salesforce.com, WebEx, Juniper Networks, and XenSource — announced the investment, in partnership with Troy-based investment firm High Peaks Venture Partners.

SaaS stands for software as a service, essentially the definition of cloud computing, which is most famous for web apps like Google's suite of online programs that mimic Microsoft Word.

Companies like Google and other industry analysts predict that eventually computing may go the way of the cloud: businesses, or even a widespread amount of users at home, would run software installed on distant servers rather than locally on their own PCs.

Apprenda CEO Sinclair Schuller said SaaSGrid offers businesses the opportunity to create and implement cloud-type programs without having to invest too much time or capital in the development. Apprenda's software lays the groundwork, so that developers can build what they need from there.

"We're kind of like the transmission in the car," Schuller said. "Our software allows companies to get started into cloud computing but you still need an engine to run what you need.

"We say focus on solving your customer's problems. Build your application but don't get involved in the details of what that means from an engineering perspective."

Schuller said that part of the investment money would go to research and product development, but much of the money would go into promoting the software through marketing and advertising.

"This is a huge opportunity to get our message out there. The value we bring to the market," said Schuller, who said they'll be marketing to corporations with multiple offices and those run out of a garage. "It will be a megaphone for us, we can shout out to the world, this is what we can do for you."

In March 2008, the state Common Retirement Fund invested $312,125 in Apprenda through its investment partner High Peaks, which invested an additional $187,875.